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Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Thistles, Ted Hughes


Thistles
Ted Hughes

Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men 
Thistles spike the summer air 
And crackle open under a blue-black pressure. 

Every one a revengeful burst 
Of resurrection, a grasped fistful 
Of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost thrust up 

From the underground stain of a decayed Viking. 
They are like pale hair and the gutturals of dialects. 
Every one manages a plume of blood. 

Then they grow grey like men. 
Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear 
Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground.
by Ted Hughes

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